Until morale improves, the crocheting will continue.

Tunisian Crochet Fantasy Hood

Folk tales and children’s stories seem to have stayed with us, at least here in the USA, long past our breaking into adulthood. Fantasy and Sci-Fi especially draw from narratives we learned when we were still in short pants, even shows that blur the line between speculative fiction and realistic fiction, like the popular Once Upon A Time, or the many many YA / adult books and shows featuring vampires or werewolves. It seems contradictory, our obsession with stories meant for children, and yet these stories were probably originally told for the adults the children were going to grow up to be. And with their themes of threatening darkness and treacherous paths into the woods, maybe we need them more now than ever… if only to help us realize that the scariest thing in the woods is probably us.

One of my favorites themes from folk tales is Little Red Riding Hood, particularly more modern versions where Miss Hood is less innocent than originally portrayed. There’s tons of awesome art to be found in this vein, like on this page and this one.

I became slightly obsessed with “elf hats,” as I called them (usually called a stocking cap, I think), back in 2011 and 2012, those long pointy caps capturing my imagination and bringing to mind all those faerie stories I love so much. I crocheted at least ten of them, selling most of them and gifting a few (and making one for myself) before moving on to the next obsession. Now I’ve come back around to them again with the “pixie hood” style that can be seen all over the crochet and knit world at the moment – though I favor the longer, more dramatic point that’s akin to the elf hats of yore.

So with my new refiguring of the elfy, pixie, faerie-y hat I bring you the Tunisian Crochet Fantasy Hood, Little Red style.

Update: There is now a newer, longer, more deluxe version of this pattern for available for purchase. It uses a 6.5 tunisian hook and worsted weight yarn (with art yarn or faux fur yarn trim) and includes detailed phototutorials and written instructions – see my post on the Trickster Hood for more details!

For help with increasing in Tunisian Simple Stitch, please refer to my tutorial post on increasing and decreasing in this stitch pattern.

To start, Ch 3, leaving a long tail for stitching later.

Increase Rows:

Row 1: Insert hk in the 2nd ch from the hk, draw up a loop. Insert hk in the next ch, draw up a lp.
Row 2: Yo, draw through 1 lp. *yo, draw through 2 lps* rpt to end.
Row 3: Ch 1, insert hk in between first two vertical loops/bars, draw up a loop (1 inc made). *insert hk under next vertical lp, draw up a lp* rpt until 1 stitch remains. Insert hk between last vertical bar worked and last remaining vertical bar, draw up a lp (1 inc made). Insert hk into last remaining vertical bar, draw up a lp.
Row 4: Rpt Row 2.

Repeat rows three and four 45 more times, or until the working row (the top) of your triangle measures about 28 inches in width.
Place a marker on either end of the working row.

Repeat rows one and two 26 more times, or until the section from your working row to your markers measures 8 inches in height. Do not cut yarn.

Ch 1. With RS facing, insert hook in the last bar worked and draw up a loop. Yarn over and draw through both loops on the hook (first Double Chain stitch made). Work 8 more double chain stitches, attach with a sl st to the base of your double chain, forming a loop. Cut yarn and finish off.

On the opposite end of the hood edge, cut a length of yarn or thread and fasten on the 1” button.

Thread the long tail from your beginning chain through a yarn or tapestry needle. Folding the hood in half lengthwise, sew the edges of the point together using a whip stitch. Stop stitching and weave in your ends once you reach the point where the increase rows end.

Weave in all ends.

This pattern is intellectual property of me, Morale Fiber. Please don’t reproduce it in any way without permission of the author. Feel free to sell items made from this pattern, just please link back to me if you do!

This hood would be lovely in any yarn really, not just the yarn shown here! That’s why I gave the pattern measurements as well as the row counts, in case you want to try it with a different weight of yarn. I myself am likely to make some more. If you have any questions or thoughts about this pattern, please don’t hesitate to comment here.

Beautifully amazing!! It’s funny that I found this now because a short while back I decided I’m going to be Little Red for Halloween this year. (I like to plan early) Definitely going to see if I can work this pattern out for my costume! I’m new to Tunisian so hopefully it all goes well. Great job and thanks for the free pattern!!

Awesome timing! I would definitely recommend the yarn I listed (Patons Classic Wool Roving) for this project if you’ve never done Tunisian before, as it’s very easy to work with (no plies to split!). Other than the increasing, this hat is just basic Tunisian Simple, which is much less scary than it looks. Good Luck!
-MF

We are officially besties lol
Your love for elfin hoods matches mine. I make them out of old sheets and linen. I have one in every colour to coordinate and offset my attire for that day.
Thank you so much for sharing this pattern. I am putting it on my ‘to do very soon’ list.
I love your ‘Miss Hood’ line-once again, your writings are a refreshing read.
Rusty

Help! I am trying to make this hood but am stuck somewhere. I believe I am following the pattern but the increase stitch on the “end” is not making that side grow. I have a right triangle instead of an isosceles or equilateral triangle (which I believe I should be making). What am I doing wrong?!

Yes, your triangle should be isosceles-ish. Are your stitch counts making sense? If you have counted up your stitches and each row is definitely 2 more stitches than the last, it could be a trick of gauge difference.

Tunisian crochet fabric does tend to bias, or lean, to the right (if you are right handed that is) and so if your gauge is loose, that bias could get exaggerated – so it could have to do with your gauge or the yarn you are using, depending on how badly it is out of whack.

If you are pretty sure you are working the pattern correctly, my advice would be to stop working the ch-1 at the beginning of every forward pass. I put it there to help with the seaming when I originally wrote this pattern, but I have since stopped using it as it honestly doesn’t really help that much – and, (again depending on your gauge) it could be what is throwing you off and making your triangle look uneven.

Thank you for your quick response. I am relatively new to Tunisian crochet and do tend to crochet on the tight side. As soon as I saw this I wanted to make it but…. only had a “J” Hook available and super chunky yarn at the moment so didn’t realize it would make so big a difference! When I had 28 stitches on, one end of my triangle was several inches longer than the other. This was a humbling lesson for me. I will definitely keep this pattern and try it when I have the proper tools and materials!

I’m definitely no stranger to trials and tribulations for learning Tunisian crochet! Since you’re using super bulky yarn, I would encourage you to do a few more rows that don’t utilize the ch-1 at the beginning of the forward pass to see if it makes a noticeable difference before setting the project aside. It’s hard to say without seeing the object but it may not be as severe of a problem as you might think – even done perfectly, this type of Tunisian triangle will slant a little more on one side than the other, and that will be more pronounced the bigger your yarn is.